


Phoenix Rises

by amyfortuna



Series: Only Light, Only Life, Only Love [6]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Multi, Short, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-05-01
Updated: 2001-05-01
Packaged: 2017-10-05 14:22:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amyfortuna/pseuds/amyfortuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prelude to Only Life. A Jedi Knight has a strange encounter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Phoenix Rises

Ashes sprayed out in the wind over the Naboo waterfall. Xanatos watched them fly, some falling straight down into the water, some soaring high, caught in an errant breeze.

He held a finely carved box, now empty, and a small glowing rock. Setting the box down on the low stone ledge, he turned the rock over and over in his hands, considering.

This had been a gift between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon many years ago. The stone was vibrant with the Living Force in a way only a few other natural things were. He traced the glimmer of Force-sensitive material with a finger.

Who should this rock go to? Surely he was not its true keeper.

"Keep it a while," a gentle whisper, faint as a night breeze, ghosted across his skin.

He started. His Jedi senses told him no one was near, but someone had surely spoken.

The air began to shimmer and Xanatos took a step back, still holding the rock. A blue shape, indistinct at first, but growing sharper by the moment, slowly appeared in the air over the waterfall.

It was Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Of course. And Xanatos wondered, for a minute, how and why they were appearing to him.

They were entwined so that they almost looked like one figure, Obi-Wan's head resting against Qui-Gon's shoulder, and Qui-Gon's arms wrapped around Obi-Wan. They looked like the statue in the main square of the capital city of Phileo, the famous sculpture entitled "Embracing Lovers."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Don't be afraid, Xanatos, it's only us."

"Yes," Xanatos breathed. "Why?"

"To tell you of the future, and to warn you," Qui-Gon said.

"When you write the story of our death, please do not include this...appearance," Obi-Wan continued.

"I understand," Xanatos said.

"The Force seeks balance," Obi-Wan said. "It is not as we thought; the Force is tipped not to the Dark Side, but to the Light. There are dreadful things ahead for the Jedi Order."

Xanatos took a step forward. "There is not a way to prevent this?"

Obi-Wan only shook his head sadly. Qui-Gon answered, "No. But you may rescue yourself and those you love as a remnant of the Order so that it may, when the time comes, begin again."

"When? How long do I have?" Xanatos asked, quietly reaching out a hand as though pleading for an answer.

"Tonight two children will be conceived," Obi-Wan said. "They will be critical to finding true balance. Nothing can happen until they face their destiny."

"One of the children shall be a lover that sparks a permanent change in the Jedi Order," Qui-Gon said.

"And the other," Obi-Wan said. "Her destiny is to restore a shattered universe and usher in a time when Jedi shall not be so rigidly defined."

The breeze died down as the sun began to slip below the horizon. "Our time grows short, my Xanatos," Qui-Gon said.

"Will I see you again?" Xanatos asked. "You've told me so little."

"You may not see us, but we will be with you, and with Anakin," Obi-Wan said, reaching out a hand.

And then suddenly, they moved closer to Xanatos, drawing him into their arms. His body tingled where they touched.

"Remember you are a Jedi," Qui-Gon said.

"Remember we love you," Obi-Wan whispered, lips just barely grazing his forehead.

As slowly as they had appeared, their blue forms faded away. Xanatos was left staring out over the waterfall, body still shaking from the pleasure of their touch.

The sunset lit up the sky with brilliant colors, and Xanatos felt the truth of the idea that he had realized years earlier: Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were not dead, not in any way that counted.

Anakin Skywalker slept late the next morning. Impatiently, at last, Xanatos marched in to pull him out of bed. If nothing else, that boy could sleep like the dead, he thought.

Lying still against the white sheets, Anakin was a vision of exhausted youth. Xanatos felt some of his annoyance drain away at the sight of him.

"Ani," he called, sitting down on the bed beside his Padawan. Anakin responded with a muffled groan and a faint attempt at a stretch.

"Yeshmashter," he murmured, pulling himself up. Xanatos smiled.

"Come on, it's time to get up," he said briskly. "I'm assuming you had a good time last night."

Anakin moved at that. "Yes, I did, Master," he said.

Xanatos took the boy's hand to pull him up to a sitting position. "Who was she?"

Anakin's face suddenly went blank; he glanced across the room as though searching for an answer. "I don't know," he said at last, eyes lost in faraway thoughts. "I never got her name."


End file.
